I have many topics that I would love to see covered at Gnomedex, but there is only one that I really want to lead the discussion on: Your Community Needs You.

This is a call for volunteers from the tech and online communities to get involved locally with their communities in one of a number of ways:
1)      Local user to user PC User Groups
2)      Local non-profits such as Girl Scout troops, Boy Scout troops, homeless shelters, food shelves, etc.
3)      Schools – both directly as help in the classroom for students and teachers, and indirectly through parent organizations

As a lifetime Girl Scout, I have always known that we (the technology aware community) are needed as volunteers. As the vice-president of the Phoenix PC User Group and a two-time veteran of the AZ Association of Computer Club tour (www.azacc.org), I have come to realize how much the community needs us NOW. User Groups around the nation are aging and shrinking. People who don’t know how to use the computer are running out of places to get basic information. Established non-profit organizations are running out of hardware, software, and bodies to help their members understand and keep up.

The technology community can help. I am not looking to give a soapbox type presentation about why to volunteer. I am looking to start with the ideas I know and lead people through a discovery process to help them find how they can help, be it through PR and visibility or through volunteer projects large and small.

So why should we as technologists and geeks help out? Because it gives us a chance to practice skills we wouldn’t normally approach. Know hardware, but want to know more? Offer to build PCs for or with a group of students. You’ll learn not only the hardware but how rewarding it can be to work with the next generation. Want to improve your spreadsheet or database skills? Contact your local senior center and offer to create a database to track the membership and a spreadsheet system that that helps them improve their budget and cash flow tracking.

Another area that needs computer skills but may not have a way to get them are the homeless and those transitioning into the work world from abusive situations, from foster care, and from homelessness. Imagine being able to say “I helped someone become a computer whiz who knew nothing!”

One thing to consider: We as technologists and geeks talk about presence and community all the time. I wonder if in focusing on the on-line side of these topics, we have lost touch with the fact that the average user doesn’t know how to use the internet to get help. Since user groups aren’t as well publicized, many who need help don’t know that it is out there. We of the on-line communities need to help the average user help themselves. Otherwise, there will be no-where for coming generations to turn for help.
 
I did ask Chris Pirillo about speaking at Gnomedex 2007.  He said he would consider it. I am hoping that by making this a blog post I have helped him see that I am serious. Whether I cover the topic or not, someone needs to do it. The community needs it!

[tags]PC User Groups, Gnomedex, volunteerism, community[/tags]